JP2002237849A - Relay transfer service providing apparatus, relay transfer service using apparatus and relay transfer service system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reliably prevent the illegal use of a relay transfer function. SOLUTION: A digital copy machine 100 for providing relay transfer service over a network has functional means of accepting a relay transfer request mail transmitted from a network facsimile machine 200 through the network, judging to permit the use of the relay transfer function by using the sender's address that has sent the accepted request mail, and sending in return a relay transfer permission notification mail added with a mail address for relay transfer processing acceptance to the sender's address of the request mail designated as a destination when deciding to permit the use of the relay function.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a relay transfer service providing apparatus for transferring a transfer mail received via a network via a public line, a relay transfer service using apparatus using the same, and a relay transfer service system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A network facsimile apparatus is a relay transfer service providing apparatus that can transfer data (e.g., image data) of a transfer mail described in an electronic mail format to an external communication apparatus (for example, a facsimile apparatus) via a public line. It has been known. By using the relay forwarding function of such a network facsimile machine, for example, when it is desired to send data to a long-distance facsimile machine, a transfer mail is transmitted to the network facsimile machine at a short distance, and from there, the desired facsimile machine Communication costs can be reduced by having the data transferred.

In the network facsimile apparatus having the above-described relay transfer function, data transfer is performed using a public line that requires a charge each time a call is transmitted. It is important to be able to limit to forwarding mail. Therefore, as a method for specifying a user, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 10-341252, a mail address permitted to use the relay transfer function is registered in a table in advance, and the source address of the transfer mail actually received is registered. There is disclosed a technology for executing the relay transfer process only when the mail address matches the mail address registered in the table. According to this technology, if the source address of the received transfer mail is not permitted to use the relay transfer function, the relay transfer processing is not executed, so that the device that provides the relay transfer service is illegally used. Can be prevented.

[0004]

However, since the source address field of the e-mail can be falsified relatively easily, the technique disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-341252 disclose an unauthorized spoofing process. There is a problem that the relay transfer operation cannot be completely prevented. In general, there is a method of authenticating the identity of a person by a digital signature or the like, but a mechanism for distributing and verifying the public key is additionally required.

[0005] When using the relay transfer service,
Specification for specifying the facsimile number (telephone number on the public line) of the relay transfer destination by specifying the facsimile number directly in the part indicating the user name in the e-mail address specification (defined in the standard document RFC2303 issued by IETF) It has become. Therefore, there is also a problem that the relay transfer service cannot be realized in an operation of extracting an electronic mail from a mail server using a protocol such as POP (Post Office Protocol) 3.

In this regard, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-2000
Japanese Patent Publication No. 151890 discloses a technique for extracting a facsimile number of a relay transfer destination from the body of an electronic mail. However, since the body part of the electronic mail is described in various formats (for example, a form encoded in some form), a malfunction is likely to occur in the method of extracting the facsimile number from the mail main body. Therefore,
The probability of an error occurring during the relay transfer operation increases.

[0007]

A relay transfer service providing apparatus according to the present invention comprises request mail receiving means for receiving a relay transfer request mail transmitted from a relay transfer service using apparatus on a network, and the request mail receiving means. A determination unit that determines whether or not to use the relay transfer function using the source address of the received relay transfer request mail; and, if the determination unit determines that the use of the relay transfer function is permitted, the request mail Address notification means for designating a source address of the relay transfer request mail received by the reception means as a destination and notifying a mail address for relay transfer processing reception;

In the relay transfer service providing apparatus, when the relay transfer request mail transmitted from the relay transfer service using apparatus on the network is received by the request mail receiving means, the source address of the received relay transfer request mail is used. Then, the use of the relay transfer function is judged by the judgment means. At this time, if the judging means judges that the use of the relay transfer function is permitted, the source address of the relay transfer request mail received by the request mail receiving means is designated as a destination, and the address notifying means sets the address for the relay transfer processing reception. Notify your email address. As a result, even if the source address of the relay transfer request mail has been tampered with by an unauthorized user, the mail address for accepting the relay transfer process is not notified to the device of the unauthorized user. Can be prevented. Further, since there is no need to describe the facsimile number of the relay transfer destination in the mail address designating the destination of the relay transfer request mail, it can be applied to the operation using the mail server.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, for example, an embodiment in which a relay transfer service providing apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a digital copying apparatus while a relay transfer service utilizing apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a network facsimile apparatus will be described. This will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a digital copying apparatus to which the present invention is applied. This digital copier 100
In addition to copy function, network communication function (including e-mail transmission / reception function) and facsimile communication function, relay transfer function to convert data sent in e-mail format to facsimile data format and transfer it It is a digital multifunction device that has multiple functions. The digital copier 100 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 10 as a hardware configuration for realizing a plurality of functions described above.
1. RAM (Random Access Memory) 102, ROM (Rea
d-Only Memory), HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 104, Printer 105, Scanner 106, Network I / F
(I / F is an abbreviation for an interface) 107, an operation panel 108, a facsimile adapter 109, and the like.
These components are interconnected via a common signal path (address bus, data bus) 110.

The CPU 101 executes various processes (including control processes) according to a control program stored in the ROM 103. Functional units such as transmission / reception of e-mail and image processing are stored in the ROM 103 in the form of a program. The ROM 103 has a ROM 10
Various types of functional means realized by the CPU 101 executing the program stored in the CPU 3 will be described in detail in a processing procedure using a flowchart described later. Further, the ROM 103 stores program codes, constants, and the like that the CPU 101 follows, and in many cases, cannot be rewritten, and the contents are not erased even when the power is turned off. The RAM 102 is used as a temporary storage of data, a work memory for arithmetic processing, a buffer memory of a communication interface, and the like.

The HDD 104 is used to store various data, messages, and information.
It has a storage capacity greater than two. This HDD1
In 04, the mail address for receiving the relay transfer process and the facsimile number of the relay transfer destination are corresponded, along with the use permitted address list holding the mail addresses permitted to use the relay transfer function of the own device in a list format. A relay transfer destination registration table which is additionally stored.
The printer 105 prints image data read by the scanner 106 and the contents of a message sent from an external communication device on a medium such as paper. The scanner 106 optically reads an image of a document drawn on a medium such as a sheet of paper, and converts the document image into image data in a format (for example, a bitmap format) that can be processed inside the apparatus. .

The network I / F 107 is an IETF
(Internet Engineering Task Force), the SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Pr
otocol) and HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Prot)
ocol) for performing network communication using various network protocols. The network I / F 107 is connected to a network 111 such as the Internet or a local area network, and exchanges data with another communication device existing on the network 111.

The operation panel 108 accepts information input such as various settings and destination designations, as well as messages received via the network I / F 107, mail addresses for receiving relay transfer processing, and facsimile numbers of relay transfer destinations. And various kinds of information such as a correspondence list. The facsimile adapter 109 is connected to the public line 11
2 is a connection adapter for performing facsimile communication via the public line 112.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of the relay transfer service system according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, a digital copying machine 100, a network facsimile machine 20
0 and the mail server 300 are mutually connected via a network such as the Internet. However, the digital copying apparatus 100 and the mail server 300 may be connected via a network such as a local area network.

Among these, the digital copying apparatus 100 that performs a relay transfer operation using a public line uses the mail server 300 to receive an electronic mail addressed to the apparatus. In order for the digital copying apparatus 100 to retrieve an e-mail from the mail server 300, the digital copying apparatus 100 uses POP3 or
A protocol such as Message Access Protocol 4 is used. That is, in the embodiment of the present invention, POP3
Alternatively, in an operation of extracting an e-mail from the mail server 300 using a protocol such as IMAP4, it is assumed that a relay transfer function by the digital copying apparatus 100 is realized. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to a case where the digital copying apparatus 100 performs the relay transfer operation alone without going through the mail server 300.

The digital copying apparatus 100 is the same as the HDD described above.
104 holds a relay transfer destination registration table. This relay transfer destination registration table may be held in the RAM 102. Network facsimile machine 200
Has basically the same hardware configuration as the digital copying apparatus 100 (see FIG. 1). However, the network facsimile apparatus 200 has a facsimile communication function as its basic function.
When using the relay transfer function of the digital copying apparatus 100, it is not necessary to use the facsimile communication function. Therefore, the relay transfer service using apparatus that uses the relay transfer function of the digital copying apparatus 100 may be a personal computer or a small communication terminal having a network communication function.

Here, a communication procedure when the external network facsimile apparatus 200 sends data such as an image to a certain facsimile number using the relay transfer function of the digital copying apparatus 100 will be described.

First, the network facsimile apparatus 20
0 designates the mail address “accept@host-a.domain” of the mailbox assigned to the mail server 300 as the destination of the relay transfer request mail, and transmits the relay transfer request mail (step). “Accept@host-a.domain”, which is the destination of the relay transfer request mail, is a dedicated address for the digital copier 100 to accept a relay transfer request mail from an external communication device including the network facsimile device 200.

FIG. 3 shows the header information of the relay transfer request mail. In the figure, the mail address assigned to the mail server 300 for exclusive use of the relay transfer request mail is described in the portion of “To: accept@host-a.domain”, and the mail address of “From: root@fax.other” is described. In the part, the mail address of the network facsimile machine 200 that is the source of the relay transfer request mail is described. Also, “Re
In the part “quest-Forward: FAX = 046-235-0000”, the facsimile number of the relay transfer destination specified by the network facsimile apparatus 200 that desires the relay transfer is described. The destination of the relay transfer request mail is the network facsimile machine 20.
It is a mail address dedicated to accepting the relay transfer request mail assigned to “0”. Therefore, all e-mails including the relay transfer request mail can be extracted from the mail server 300 using a protocol such as POP3.

On the other hand, in the digital copying apparatus 100, the relay transfer request mail transmitted from the network facsimile apparatus 200 as described above is sent to "accept@host-a.domai".
n "from the mailbox of the mail server 300. Then, the digital copying apparatus 100
The source address of the relay transfer request mail (“root@fax.other” in the example of FIG. 3) is one for which use of the relay transfer function has been permitted in the own device based on the use permission address list held in the HDD 104. Check if there is. If it is permitted, the relay transfer destination registration table held in the HDD 104 is searched for a mail address for receiving a relay transfer process in which the facsimile number of the relay transfer destination is not yet registered. If the registered mail address exists, the relay transfer destination facsimile number (“046- in the example of FIG. 3”) is associated with the mail address.
235-0000 ") is registered (step). In the relay transfer destination registration table, a plurality of mail addresses for receiving the relay transfer processing are prepared, and the mailbox specified by each mail address is stored in the mail server 300. Have been assigned.

At this time, using the setting function of the digital copying apparatus 100, the use condition of the relay transfer function using the mail address is set as an item related to the mail address where the facsimile number of the relay transfer destination has been registered. You. Specifically, the usage period of the relay transfer function (date,
Time) and the number of uses are set. The usage conditions of the relay transfer function are set based on the source address of the relay transfer request mail. That is, in a use permitted address list that holds in advance a list of mail addresses permitted to use the relay transfer function, use conditions are input for each mail address, and a source address that matches a mail address existing in the list is input. If you check
Apply the usage conditions entered in the previous list and set the usage period or usage count of the email address.

Subsequently, as described above, when the registration of the facsimile number of the relay transfer destination in the relay transfer destination registration table is completed, the digital copying apparatus 100 transmits the relay facsimile number to the network facsimile apparatus 200 which is the transmission source of the relay transfer request mail. A relay transfer permission notification mail for notifying that the relay transfer request has been permitted is transmitted (step). To the header information of the relay transfer permission notification mail, a mail address for receiving the relay transfer process in which the facsimile number of the relay transfer destination is registered on the digital copying apparatus 100 side is added.

FIG. 4 shows the header information of the relay transfer permission notification mail. In the figure, “To: root@fax.other” describes the mail address of the network facsimile apparatus 200 to which the relay transfer permission notification mail is to be sent, and “Reply-To: user2@host-a.domain”. "" Describes the mail address for receiving the relay transfer process in which the facsimile number of the relay transfer destination has been registered on the digital copying apparatus 100 side. Also, “Request-Result: permitte
The part "d" describes that the relay transfer request has been permitted.

In the network facsimile apparatus 200 which has received the relay transfer permission notification mail from the digital copying apparatus 100, the mail address for receiving the relay transfer process included in the header information of the relay transfer permission notification mail (FIG. 4)
In the above example, “user2@host-a.domain”) is extracted, the extracted mail address is specified as a destination, and a transfer mail with data such as an image attached is transmitted (step). The image data attached to the transfer mail may be read and stored in advance with a scanner or the like, or may be read with a scanner or the like after receiving the relay transfer permission notification mail. May be.

On the other hand, in the digital copying apparatus 100, “user2 @ host-
a.domain ”is extracted from the mailbox of the mail server 300, and the image data attached to the transfer mail is converted into facsimile data.
The above facsimile data is transmitted to the facsimile number registered (stored) in the relay transfer destination registration table in correspondence with the mail address for accepting the relay transfer processing (in this example, “user2@host-a.domain”) (Step).

Subsequently, the digital copying apparatus 100 and the network facsimile apparatus 2 based on the above-described communication procedure
00 will be described. The processing functions described below are embodied in each of the digital copying apparatus 100 and the network facsimile apparatus 200 when the CPU executes the programs stored in the ROM.

FIG. 5 shows a network facsimile apparatus 20.
7 is a flowchart showing a procedure for transmitting a relay transfer request mail at 0. First, a final destination desired as a data transmission destination is designated by a facsimile number or a mail address using an input means such as an operation panel provided in the own apparatus (step S10). At this time, when using the relay transfer function of the digital copying apparatus 100, the facsimile number is designated as the destination.

Next, it is confirmed whether the destination designation in step S10 is designated by a facsimile number or a mail address. If the destination designation is designated by a facsimile number, it is determined that the relay transfer function is to be used, and step S1 is executed.
The process proceeds to step S2, and if the mail address is specified, it is determined that the relay transfer function is not used, and the process proceeds to step S15. Regarding whether to use the relay transfer function,
The determination may be made automatically in the network facsimile apparatus 200 using the destination information specified in step S10, or the user may be asked to select whether or not to use the relay transfer function.

If the relay transfer function is not used, the original image is read by a scanner or the like, and the image is attached to an electronic mail, and then transmitted to the mail address specified as the final destination in the previous step S10 (step S15, S1
6).

On the other hand, when the relay transfer function is used, an apparatus (digital copying apparatus 100 in this embodiment) to be used for the relay transfer is specified from an operation panel or the like, and then the document image is read and the read image is read. Data is stored (steps S12 and S13). The storage of image data is H
This is performed using a storage unit such as a DD. Thereafter, a relay transfer request mail is transmitted to the device specified in step S12 (step S14). The mail address serving as the destination of the relay transfer request mail may be, for example, a request destination address table in which a device usable for relay transfer and a mail address addressed to the device are stored in a storage unit such as an HDD, and As a process in S12, a list of devices used for relay transfer is displayed on an operation panel or the like, and a mail address corresponding to a device designated (selected) by the user is read from a storage unit such as an HDD from the list. It is possible to specify it automatically.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a process of responding to a relay transfer request in the digital copying apparatus. First,
The relay transfer request mail is taken out of the mailbox provided in the mail server 300 and accepted (step S20). Next, by checking information such as a header indicating the sender of the relay transfer request mail, it is determined whether or not the source address of the relay transfer request mail is permitted to use the relay transfer function of the own device. (Step S
21).

Here, the use permission / non-permission of the relay transfer function is determined by comparing the transmission source address of the relay transfer request mail with the use permission address list stored in the HDD 104 in advance. The mail addresses permitted to use the relay transfer function are listed in the use permitted address list in the HDD 104. Therefore, if the source address of the relay transfer request mail exists in the use permitted address list, it is determined that the source address is permitted. . At this time, if it is determined that the source address of the relay transfer request mail is not permitted (not permitted), the administrator is notified as an alarm that there has been an unauthorized access (step S27). This makes it possible to reject requests from device users who are not permitted to use the relay transfer function, thereby preventing unauthorized use.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the source address of the relay transfer request mail is permitted, the facsimile number included in the header information of the relay transfer request mail is stored in the relay transfer destination registration table in the HDD 104. It is checked whether or not it has already been registered (step S22). If it has already been registered, after setting the usage conditions of the corresponding table item (in this case, updating) (step S25), the fact that the source address of the relay transfer request mail is specified as the destination and the relay transfer is permitted Is returned (step S26). This step S26
The response notification e-mail returned in the above corresponds to the relay transfer permission notification e-mail described above.

If it is determined in step S22 that the mail address has not been registered, a search is made to see if there is any mail address in which the facsimile number is not registered in the relay transfer destination registration table (step S23). If an unregistered mail address is extracted, the relay transfer destination facsimile number is registered in association with the mail address (step S24).

Then, after setting the conditions for using the relay transfer function using the mail address for which the facsimile number has been registered (step S26), a response notification mail indicating that the relay transfer has been permitted is transmitted (step S26). Also,
If no unregistered mail address is found in step S23, a response notification mail indicating that the relay transfer operation is busy and the relay operation cannot be performed at present is returned to the source address of the relay transfer request mail (step S28). .

By extracting an unregistered mail address and registering the facsimile number of the relay transfer destination for a plurality of mail addresses for accepting the relay transfer processing prepared in the relay transfer destination registration table, the relay transfer is performed. It is possible to dynamically assign a relay transfer destination facsimile number to a mail address for receiving a transfer process. Also, when registering the facsimile number of the relay transfer destination, by setting the use conditions of the relay transfer function using the mail address for relay transfer processing reception, the mail address for relay transfer processing reception leaked to the outside by any chance Even in this case, since the confidentiality of the facsimile number of the relay transfer destination associated with the relay transfer destination registration table is maintained, unauthorized use of the relay transfer destination can be prevented. Furthermore, the use period and the number of uses of the relay transfer function using the mail address for accepting relay transfer processing are limited even for malicious unauthorized use that does not care about the relay transfer destination. Can be minimized.

FIG. 7 shows a network facsimile apparatus 200 receiving a response notification mail from the digital copying apparatus 100.
9 is a flowchart illustrating a transmission procedure of a transfer mail in (an apparatus using the relay transfer function). First, the response notification mail sent from the digital copying apparatus 100 is received (step S30). Next, it is confirmed whether or not the relay transfer request is permitted based on the content of the received response notification mail (“Request-Result: permitted” in FIG. 4) (step S31). At this time, if the content of the response notification mail is a content notifying that the relay transfer is permitted, the process proceeds to the next step S32, and if the content is a notification that the relay work is busy, the process is performed at that time. finish.

In step S32, the mail address of the reply destination (for accepting the relay transfer process) (from "user2@host-a.domain" in FIG. 4) is determined from the header information (or in the text) of the response notification mail permitting the relay transfer. Part). Next, prior processing (the processing of step S13 in FIG. 5)
Attach the image data stored in step (1) to the electronic mail, and send the electronic mail with the image, that is, the transfer mail to the mail address extracted earlier (step S33). The transfer mail transmitted in this way is stored in a mailbox for relay transfer processing prepared in the mail server 300.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a relay transfer process in the digital copying apparatus 100. First,
The transfer mail (e-mail with image, etc.) is extracted from the mailbox on the mail server 300 that has been previously allocated for receiving the relay transfer processing (step S40). Next, the field indicating the source address of the extracted transfer mail is read, and it is confirmed whether or not the source address is the one permitted to use the relay transfer function (step S41). At this time, when it is determined that the transmission source address is not permitted to use the relay transfer function, the fact that an unauthorized access has been made is notified to the administrator as an alarm (step S45). If it is determined that the source address is permitted to use the relay transfer function, the process proceeds to step S42. It should be noted that the determination of whether or not the source address is one for which the use of the relay transfer function has been permitted is performed even when the relay transfer request mail has been received before that, so the processing in step S41 is necessary. What is necessary is just to perform according to it.

Subsequently, in step S42, image data in the mail for transfer is extracted and converted into a format that allows facsimile communication via a public line, that is, facsimile data. Next, by referring to the relay transfer destination registration table held in the HDD 104, the facsimile is transmitted to the facsimile number stored (registered) in association with the mail address for receiving the relay transfer process, which is the destination of the transfer mail. The data is transferred (step S43). This makes it possible to transfer the transfer mail transmitted from the network facsimile apparatus 200 to the facsimile number described in the header information of the previous relay transfer request mail.

Thereafter, the use condition (use period, number of use, etc.) corresponding to the facsimile number used for facsimile transfer in step S43 is checked in the relay transfer destination registration table (step S44), and the use condition has reached the upper limit. In this case, the registration of the facsimile number is canceled (step S46). As a result, the mail address for receiving the relay transfer process, which has been registered, is changed to unregistered. Therefore, a new facsimile number can be registered in association with the mail address.

[0043]

As described above, according to the present invention, even when the source address of the relay transfer request mail has been falsified by an unauthorized user, the mail address for accepting the relay transfer processing is notified to the device of the unauthorized user. Therefore, unauthorized use of the relay transfer function can be reliably prevented. Further, since there is no need to describe the facsimile number of the relay transfer destination in the mail address specifying the destination of the relay transfer request mail, the present invention can be applied to the operation using a mail server.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a digital copying apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of a relay transfer service according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing header information of a relay transfer request mail.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing header information of a relay transfer permission notification mail.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a procedure for transmitting a relay transfer request mail.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a process of responding to a relay transfer request.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a transmission procedure of a transfer mail.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of relay transfer.

[Explanation of symbols]

100: Digital copier (relay transfer service providing device), 101: CPU, 102: RAM, 103: RO
M, 104: HDD, 105: Printer, 106: Scanner, 107: Network I / F, 108: Operation panel, 109: Facsimile adapter, 110: Signal path,
111 network, 112 public line, 200 network facsimile device (relay transfer service utilization device), 300 mail server

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04N 1/00 107 H04N 1/00 107Z 1/32 1/32 FZ F term (Reference) 5C062 AA02 AA16 AA30 AA35 AB11 AB42 AC23 AC29 AC43 AF01 AF02 BA00 BC06 BD00 5C075 CA14 CA15 CA90 CD07 FF90 5K030 HA07 HB04 HC01 HD03 JA11 JT03 JT05 LD11 LD13 5K101 KK01 KK02 NN21 PP03 PP04 PP09 RR19 TT06

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. A request mail receiving means for receiving a relay transfer request mail transmitted from a relay transfer service using apparatus on a network, and a relay transfer using a source address of the relay transfer request mail received by the request mail receiving means. Determining means for determining whether or not use of the function is permitted; and, if the determining means determines that use of the relay transfer function is permitted, the source address of the relay transfer request mail received by the request mail receiving means is determined. A relay transfer service providing apparatus, comprising: an address notifying unit that notifies a mail address for receiving a relay transfer process by designating the destination as a destination. A first storage unit for storing a mail address permitted to use the relay transfer function, wherein the determination unit determines a source address of the relay transfer request mail received by the request mail reception unit; 2. The relay transfer service providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a determination is made as to whether or not use of the relay transfer function is permitted by comparing the mail address stored in the first storage unit. A second storage unit for storing a mail address for accepting the relay transfer process and a facsimile number of the relay transfer destination in association with each other; and a case where the determination unit determines that the use of the relay transfer function is permitted. Registration means for registering the facsimile number of the relay transfer destination included in the relay transfer request mail received by the request mail reception means in association with the relay transfer processing reception mail address stored in the second storage means The relay transfer service providing apparatus according to claim 1, comprising: 4. The second storage means stores a plurality of mail addresses for accepting the relay transfer processing, and the registration means stores a plurality of the relay transfer data stored in the second storage means. 4. The relay transfer service according to claim 3, wherein an unregistered mail address is extracted from the mail addresses for processing reception, and the facsimile number of the relay transfer destination is registered in association with the extracted mail address. Providing device. 5. A transfer mail receiving means for receiving a transfer mail transmitted to the relay transfer processing reception mail address, and converting the transfer mail data received by the transfer mail reception means into facsimile data. Data converting means, and facsimile data converted by the data converting means,
Transfer means for transferring to a relay transfer destination facsimile number stored in the second storage means in association with a mail address for receiving a relay transfer process which is a destination of the transfer mail. The relay transfer service providing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein 6. A use condition setting means for setting use conditions of a relay transfer function using a mail address for relay transfer processing reception stored in said second storage means. Relay transfer service providing device. 7. The relay transfer service providing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said use condition setting means sets a use period or a use count as a use condition of said relay transfer function. 8. The use condition setting unit sets a use condition of the relay transfer function based on a source address of the relay transfer request mail received by the request mail reception unit. Relay transfer service providing device. 9. When the relay transfer operation is performed using the mail address for relay transfer processing stored in the second storage means, the use condition of the relay transfer function corresponding to the mail address is updated. 7. The relay transfer service providing apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a use condition updating unit that performs the use condition updating. 10. When the use condition of the relay transfer function reaches the upper limit by the update by the use condition update means, the relay transfer destination associated with the mail address for accepting the relay transfer process in which the use condition is set. 10. The relay transfer service providing apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising a registration canceling unit for canceling the registration of the facsimile number. 11. A request mail transmitting means for transmitting a relay transfer request mail to a relay transfer service providing apparatus on a network, and a reply from the relay transfer service providing apparatus to the relay transfer request mail transmitted from the request mail transmitting means. Response notification mail receiving means for receiving the received response notification mail, address extraction means for extracting a mail address for relay transfer processing reception included in the response notification mail received by the response notification mail receiving means, and the address extraction means A transfer mail transmitting means for transmitting a transfer mail to the mail address for accepting the relay transfer process extracted in the step (1). 12. A determination means for determining whether or not a relay transfer request has been permitted based on the notification content of the response notification mail received by the response notification mail receiving means, wherein the address extracting means includes: 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein when it is determined that the relay transfer request is permitted, the mail address for receiving the relay transfer process is extracted.
2. The relay transfer service using device according to 1. 13. A relay transfer service, comprising: a relay transfer service providing device according to any one of claims 1 to 10; and a relay transfer service using device according to claim 11 or 12 on a network. system. 14. A mail server on the network, wherein a mail address for receiving a relay transfer request and a mail address for receiving a relay transfer process are assigned to the mail server. The relay transfer service system according to the above.